Dirty Mirrors
by HebrewPrincess91
Summary: Mirrors series. Boba Fett carries the untampered clones genes, genes that Kamino needs to produce more clones. Anakin and Rex are dispatched to find Boba and bring him in, but the task isn't quite that simple. Features Anakin Skywalker, Boba Fett, Captain Rex, Bo-Katan Kryze, and Adi Gallia. Set during Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Canon compliant.
1. YOU CAN'T RUN, BUT YOU CAN HIDE

Boba Fett was on the move again. For a boy his age, he had lived a life more fraught than most. After his stint in Republic prison he thought he might be insignificant enough to ignore for the time being. The Republic was in the middle of an intense and expensive war after all. One small, would-be assassin, should be able to slip through the cracks.

No such luck for Boba. Several days ago Boba had heard from one of his colleagues. There were rumors, his colleague shared, that the Kaminoans were pressing the Republic to recapture him. It wasn't clear why, but Boba's mind went to all kinds of dark places. The Kaminoans treated non-Kamino species as if they were not quite sentient. It was what made them such good scientists, they had no ethical paradigm to hold them back, which meant that they could conduct all kinds of experiments on living beings with no qualms.

All Boba knew was that he wanted to avoid capture at all costs. A series of events had forced him to lay low on Mandalore, and unless he had some help, it didn't look like he was getting off planet anytime soon. Currently, he was camped out in a day shelter for the homeless. The shelter was in the capital, but located on the bad side of town near the red light district. This area of the city was far from the impressive palaces and public buildings of the city's center. It was more industrial, mostly factories, slums and low-income housing. Still, it was a little safer here if you were trying to go unnoticed.

Boba stood from the corner bench he had been occupying for the last hour. He had hoped a colleague of his father would meet him here. Stretching he skirted around the edge of the room and made for the door. The shelter was going to close in half an hour anyway, he might as well beat the rush.

Stepping out into the street he walked along the sidewalk to the end of the block. As he reached the corner he felt a gentle hand placed on his shoulder. Looking up he saw a red haired woman. His contact, at last. "You Bo-Katan?"

The woman smiled. "Yeah. And I guess you're Jango's kid. You've grown since I last saw you."

It was true. The last time he had met any of the Death Watch members he had been around four years old. Jango had always taken Boba everywhere with him, meeting up with revolutionaries was just part of a normal day for Boba. He really didn't remember any of them, but he knew Bo-Katan by her reputation. His father had always spoken highly of her skill as a warrior. "Name's Boba."

"A good Mandolorian name."

Boba smiled a little, it was nice to be recognized as something other than just a clone. "Bo-Katan, can you help me? I need to lay low for a while."

Bo-Katan casually slung an arm around his shoulder saying, "Sure thing, kid, Death Watch looks out for it's own."

"I'm not Death Watch."

"Your dad was, and you're his kid, so I think it's within reason to help you out for the time being. When you get a little older we can talk about full membership."

Boba looked up at the woman, she seemed kind enough. She, at least so far, hadn't started talking down to him and pretending he was just some idiot kid. It was refreshing to be treated like a real person. But, Boba had been burned by several of his father's old associates before. Many of them seemed to think that just because he was young, it was okay to double-cross him. He would trust her, but only so far. "So, what are you thinking?"

"I think I know of a place to stash you for a little while. You any good at fixing things?"

"I can fix anything, or figure it out if I don't know." He said, only a little boastfully. One of the perks of being raised by a skilled and resourceful assassin.

"Well, then I've got a place for you. Amber Shipyard needs fix it men; they don't really care who, and they don't really ask questions. It's a great place to lay low until the heat dissipates."

* * *

Author's Note: For this story EU _LEGENDS_ information is being disregarded. Only the canon of Episodes I-VI and _Star Wars: The Clone Wars_ is being included.


	2. LIGHT DUTY

Anakin Skywalker was finally healed and ready for action, mostly. He and Rex had taken some injuries in the last skirmish which had laid them up for a few days. Freshly released from medical center at the Tipoca City clone facility on Kamino, Anakin had been told to report to Master Gallia for a new assignment.

Walking from the clone quarters he met Rex on the way. The blond clone nodded at him. "I understand that I'm supposed to report to you for a new assignment, sir."

"It looks like we'll be finding out together, Rex. Hopefully it's something fun this time."

Rex grinned. Anakin's love for excitement was one he, and most of the other clones, shared. "Whatever it is, me and the 501st will be ready for it."

Upon entering the command room, they were greeted by Master Gallia. "I've been informed that the both of you are ready for light duty." Anakin and Rex exchanged glances, 'light duty' sounded like this was not going to be a fun assignment after all. Usually those two words meant guarding some paranoid senator with a bounty on his head. Sometimes it was something even worse, like guarding the senator's dog. Though, if given a choice, Anakin would pick the dog over the senator any day.

Master Gallia continued, "A new, and very important assignment has come up, and we need the best to see it through. In order to keep up their work for the Republic, the Kaminoans have informed us that they need some clean, untampered, genetics in order to prevent glitches and decay in the more recently produced clones." Master Gallia held up a holo-projector and flicked it on, the image revealed one of the more recent clones that had suffered some severe deformities because of gene-glitches, he'd been called 99 and had died saving the gene samples used to produce the clones. Master Gallia flicked the switch again and the viewer displayed clone template, Jango Fett. "As I'm sure you are aware, the original template died at the battle of Geonosis."

"Then what, exactly, are we supposed to do? We can't exactly go to the after-life and resurrect him, now can we?" Anakin interjected.

Master Gallia nodded, "Which is why the Kaminoans have informed us of a clone that could answer our problems. Normally, clone genetics wouldn't be suitable because of the gene-breaking that is done to accelerate growth and sharpen senses. However, Jango Fett requested that he be given one clone, unaltered in any way, which he then raised as a son." Master Gallia flicked to another image, this one showing the scowling mug-shot of a half-grown clone boy.

Anakin recognized him from the attack on Master Windu's life aboard _Endurance_. "Isn't he in prison?"

"No. He escaped a while back and the Republic has been unable to recapture him. There's been a little activity surrounding him since his escape, it seems he has become something of a bounty hunter."

Anakin looked skeptically at the child's face beaming up from the projector. "What's he do, bounty hunt puppies or something?"

"I don't know. The information is scanty. Still, it is a matter or strategic necessity for the war effort that the Kaminoans have fresh, untampered genes. This, gentlemen, is the only option we have." Gallia grimaced a little as she finished her sentence.

"And you're sure he's untampered? I mean, it would be a lot of work to track him down, just to find out that he was gene-hacked." Anakin didn't know why, but this 'light duty' mission was not something he was looking forward too; of course, baby sitting never really was his thing.

Master Gallia nodded. "The Kaminoans have assured me that he is completely unaltered. A perfect copy of the template. They have run various tests on both of them over the years, your efforts will not be in vain." She looked between the two men. "This mission is a small one. This will be up to the two of you to complete. All the information we have is on this datacrystal," she proffered a datacrystal which Anakin accepted. "And there is a small ship ready for you in hangar twelve." She bowed to Anakin, "May the Force be with you." Anakin returned the gesture, and Master Gallia departed the command room leaving the men to prepare for their assignment.

Rex turned to Anakin. "He's just cadet aged, right? How hard can he be to find?"

Anakin shrugged. "That kid's made of some pretty tough stuff. This may be harder than you think."


	3. HIDE AND GO SEEK

Anakin and Rex landed on Mandalore. The best intel they had led to the capital city. From there they would have to do all the leg work. Rex always felt a little odd when on Mandalore. The fact that he looked exactly like one of Mandalore's most notorious criminals was strange enough. On top of that not only did he look Mandalorian, he spoke with the same accent, his armor was even styled after Mandalorian designs, but he didn't belong there.

"Where are we going first, sir?"

"Well," Anakin looked around the cityscape thoughtfully. "I think it's safe to say that a clone kid might get some attention. Practically everyone in the galaxy knows what clones look like. We'll just have to start there. Mandalore has given us their 'full cooperation' in this matter, so I say we start with official channels, learn what we can, than find some unofficial channels."

Their leads led them to the lower half of the capital. The precinct offices let them have all the information they had on the clone boy. It wasn't much, but it did place him in the area not too long ago. As they left the offices Anakin gave Rex one of his sideways looks. "Now we go to the sources that will actually know something."

Not entirely sure what that meant, Rex still replied, "Understood, sir."

Crossing the street and wending their way down an alley Anakin and Rex came out near the back entrance to a factory. There were some people standing near the entrance smoking. Anakin stepped up to them. "Hello, ladies. Could you direct me to the nearest bar? I'm new in town." He gave them his most winning smile.

The women looked him up and down, then Rex. "Sure," said one, "it's down around the corner. A joint called _Slackers Relief_. If you and you're friend are still there in an hour, I'll come find you." She winked at them as one of her co-workers giggled.

"Sorry to disappoint," Anakin said, trying to be his most charming. "I'm just going for the booze."

"Your loss." She said, flicking her cigarette to the ground and stepped on it before disposing it in a nearby trash bin.

Entering the bar Rex and Anakin looked around at the rough looking, yet well kept place. "What do we do now?" Rex whispered to Anakin. In some ways, Anakin thought, Rex really was too young. He knew how to do things the official way, he had battle experience and could think and move like a soldier. But some of the shadier stuff? The stuff people learned by living? He really didn't know much about that.

"We figure out who's likely to know where a lone kid who doesn't want to be found might be. Let's just sit and observe for a while."

Rex nodded. "Understood, sir."

Sitting in one of the booths, Anakin ordered drinks for Rex and himself. People came and went over the next forty-five minutes, but Anakin still hadn't seen the kind of person he was waiting for. The type was common enough: someone who was connected enough, probably armed, probably had some money, but not a lot. The person might come with friends, or meet them at the bar. Would definitely want a back table where they could watch the door.

Keeping his eyes peeled, his patience was rewarded when in came just the kind of man he was looking for. He was a slinky fellow who perpetually kept his left hand on his blaster. The slinky man took a seat at a far table, his back to the wall and facing the door. Letting him get comfortable for a moment Anakin rose. "Rex, stay here and keep me covered. I should be back in just a minute."

Rex might not know much about finding the right kind of crook in a bar, but he knew how to keep General Skywalker covered. He nodded and kept his blaster in easy reach. Anakin strode over to Slinky who was currently scratching his blond hair as he waited for his drink. Anakin took a seat across from him, but not directly between Rex and himself. "Hey there, friend." Slinky looked unimpressed.

"I'm not you're friend."

"We can be, if you play nice."

"That depends on what you've got to motivate me." Slinky rubbed his fingers together indicating he wanted his palms greased. Anakin knew he had this guy right where he wanted him.

"So, what do you know about a young clone seen around the area about a week and a half ago?"

Slinky looked thoughtful for a moment, pursing his lips. "I might know something. I've seen him around. Whatcha got to help my memory?"

Anakin played his trump card. "Well, the only thing I might have of interest to you is this." He placed his lightsaber on the table in front of him. "I'm certain you don't want any Jedi complications in your life. Let me have the little fish, and I'll forget I ever saw you."

Slinky licked his lips nervously. Anakin had pegged him, correctly, as a man easily cowed by the powerful. Slinky was happy with his small time crime existence, and wasn't about to go out on a limb for someone he didn't even know. "He was around here. Goes by the name of Fett. Probably some copycat of the real deal. He died on Geonosis, you know, the real Fett I mean. Well, anyway, the clone kid has been around. Fancies himself a bounty hunter or something. Heard two days ago that he's under Death Watch protection. They were gonna stash him somewhere. Haven't seen him since."

"Do you know if he was taken off planet?"

"I don't know, and I don't want to get on the wrong side of Death Watch. I don't know anything else, so leave me alone and forget about me like you promised."

Anakin knew he wasn't getting much more out of this one. Time to move on. "Thank you for your time. I won't be seeing you around." Returning to Rex he motioned towards the door. "Let's go, I need to talk to some different people."


	4. AMBER SHIPYARD, HANGAR BAY NUMBER FOUR

It took many more hours, and it was well into the night before Rex and Anakin finally had all the information they needed. "Hangar 4, Amber 'yard. What happens if he's not there, sir?"

"Then we figure out a new plan." They came to the door of the hangar. It was locked up for the night and the security alarm blinked calmly at them.

"I don't think anyone's home, should we let ourselves in?"

"Rex, you read my mind."

It took very little time to locate the panel that supplied power to the security system, it took more time, however, to actually disarm it. Using a power meter Rex checked the lines to see which one was the one carrying the current. "I think it's the magenta wire, sir. The mauve one controls the signal and the magenta controls the power."

Anakin rolled his eyes at this. "Your one of them! Listen, Rex. I only know ten colours. Is it the pink one, or the purple one?"

"Umm, pink sir. It's the pink one."

Anakin cut the offending wire, hoping that he and Rex had the same idea of pink. The power to the security system went off. Finding one of the smaller side doors Rex stepped back and let Anakin handle this one. Anakin took a breath, than reaching out with the Force he felt for the lock. He felt for the shape of the catch and the workings of the door. It only took him a moment. He was quite adept at opening doors. A second later, the door opened and they were in.

Stepping cautiously into the hangar they took in the place. The low night-lights cast dark shadows on the ships that were tightly parked throughout the bay. Anakin slid the door shut and locked it again. "Let's split up and sweep the perimeter. See if you can find evidence of him, and be careful. This kid almost successfully murdered Master Windu, so keep your guard up."

Rex nodded, blaster in hand, set for stun. Activating his infrared vision he cautiously moved around the edge of the hangar. Even though Anakin had warned him to be careful, Rex thought he had a better idea of exactly what a cadet age clone was capable of. The clones were put through their paces at all ages. The cadet age clones were soldiers and warriors just like the full grown ones.

Rex reached the far wall, and began sweeping it moving parallel to Anakin. They couldn't see each other now, there were too many ships between them. Down the wall a few meters was an office with various control panels mounted on the wall nearby. Rex tested the door. Locked. But looking in though the window he didn't see anything of interest. He continued on, keeping alert for any sign or sound that might be relevant.

About two thirds of the way down the wall Rex was rewarded with the sight of a messy cot. It looked as though someone had been sleeping here. Speaking into his comm, he said in a low voice, "General Skywalker, this is Rex. I have eyes on a cot over here and it might be the boy's, do you copy."

"I hear you Rex. Keep alert. If he's been sleeping here we could run into him at any moment. We don't want him to get away."

"Roger that." Rex continued on, keeping his footfalls as soft as possible so as not to spook their unsuspecting quarry. As he drew nearer to the back wall of the hangar, movement caught his eye. There, descending the ramp to one of the many ships that were crowded into the hangar, was Boba Fett.

Boba felt his stomach clench and his adrenaline spike as he laid eyes on the clone trooper. He was compromised and he had to get out of here. Not waiting for the trooper to act Boba launched himself off the ramp and began dodging between the various ships. His heart was racing, yet his mind was remarkably clear. He'd been taught how to evade capture in urban environments. This was nothing he wasn't ready for.

Rex gave chase, calling to Anakin, "Sir, the boy's over here, he's running in between the ships, I do not have a visual."

"Understood." Anakin raced from where he had been on the far side of the bay. Dodging between ships he moved toward Rex hoping to catch the kid between them. His plan might have worked on most children Boba's age, but not this time.

Boba had doubled back, crawling on top of the wing of a ship Rex had already passed, he waited for a moment until he was sure that the clone couldn't see or hear him. Slipping from his spot he moved to another, then another. Dodging under taller ships and crawling over the smaller ones Boba moved across the bay. As he made his way back to the wall with his cot he heard the sound of someone coming from the other side of the hangar. He needed a diversion and a way out.

Moving to a control panel on the wall near the office, Boba reached up and unlocking it he pressed three controls in rapid succession before he ran for cover. The first was the controls to the big bay door where the ships came in and out. They ground to life, squealing and roaring. The second was the control for the flood lights. The hangar bay lit up to full dazzling brightness as all the lights sprang to life. The third was for the fire alarm. Suddenly loud ringing and clanging filled the air as the sprinkler system started with all the intensity of a summer deluge.

Rex had jerked his head around as he heard the hangar doors beginning to open, then an instant later he was blinded and his infrared rendered useless as the lights exploded onto the scene. A second later the air was a cacophony of alarms alerting them to a fire Rex was sure didn't exist as water poured from the sprinklers getting everything sopping wet. This boy was good.

Great, thought Anakin as water poured over him, now all of Mandalore knows we're here. This is just great. Anakin sloshed over to where Rex was standing. The captain had taken off his helmet and was trying to clear his vision after being temporarily blinded. "You okay, Rex?"

"Yes sir. Just a moment of infrared blindness when the lights came on a second ago. It's pretty much gone now."

"Did you see the kid?"

"Not since a few minutes ago when he spotted me and ran. With the hangar door being open he probably decided to run for it."

Anakin considered this. It would be the smart thing to do. A soldier has a better chance of escape if he doesn't stay trapped in a confined area with the enemy. The lights and fire alarms provided a perfect diversion, he could be putting distance between the two of them even now. But Anakin didn't think so.

He wasn't sure if it was the prompting of the Force, or the fact that he knew a thing or two about being a boy trying to avoid detection, but he felt as though the kid was still here. Hiding somewhere. Anakin closed his eyes, reaching out with his senses trying to find the kid. It took him a moment but he was certain he had found him. Right there, about a dozen meters across the hangar. Opening his eyes he waved a hand to Rex and pointed in the direction he was sure Boba was in. Rex placed his helmet back on his head, infrared turned off, and followed Anakin quietly through the hangar until they came to a medium sized freighter.

Like many in the hangar, the ramp was down. Not really a clue there. Rex swept the area with his sensors, but didn't find anything of interest. Anakin gestured aboard the ship and began to quietly ascend the plank. Not that it mattered much if his footsteps made noise. Between the blaring alarms and the noise of the water pouring down it was hard to hear anything.

Entering the ship Anakin looked around. A grown man might be lying in wait, hoping to catch him and Rex off guard and either attack them, or slip by them and get away. But they were looking for a kid, and when kids are in trouble they hide. He remembered doing that many times when he was young. Whether it was his mother, or Watto, or another pod racer who he had been in trouble with, he remembered finding the dark secret places adults never considered, and hiding.

Glancing around the main cabin on the ship he didn't see anything that fit the bill. The place needed to be small. Somewhere an adult would never think of looking for a person. He cautiously strode into the next compartment. It seemed to be a galley. This was it. There were a number of cabinets and storage bins lining the walls of the room. Anakin could practically hear the hushed breathing of the kid. "You can come out now. It's okay, we aren't going to hurt you." There was no response.

Boba lay still in his storage bin. He hoped the clone and whoever else was out there would just give up. Go away, leave him alone. He was curled under some old sacking and other rubbish. He thought the door trick might divert their attention. He grimaced to himself, he would have given anything to have a blaster at this moment.

Anakin waited a few beats before making a move. He really hadn't expected that to work, but sometimes his optimistic side got the better of him. Seizing the lid to the bin in the corner Anakin lifted it, and gazed at last on the boy they were looking for.


	5. SCUFF MARKS

Under the rubbish and sacking lay Boba Fett. Anakin could see the small boy, not yet a teen, glaring at him with an intensity he recognized. Boba unfolded himself to stand at his full, albeit diminutive, stature. Arms crossed defensively across his chest. He kept Anakin's gaze, not backing down for a second. Anakin remembered that look. He had worn it a lot when he was a kid.

Anakin held his hand out to the kid. "This doesn't have to be difficult. Come with me, we don't want to hurt you." Boba remained motionless, making no move toward Anakin. This kid has nothing to lose, thought Anakin, and when you have nothing to lose, you have no reason to give in.

Rex hovered near the doorway of the galley. It wasn't really roomy enough for him and Anakin to be inside together. "Have you got him, sir?"

"Not yet."

Rex glanced at the towering Jedi warrior, and then leaned a little to see around him and view the short boy. "Do you...ah, need help, sir?"

"I got this, Rex."

Rex loosed the binder cuffs from his belt.

Anakin spoke calmly, but still loud enough to be heard over the noise that still reigned in the hangar. "Come on, kid. You know you're out of options. It's not worth it for you or anybody to keep fighting at this point. Let's not have a problem."

Boba still didn't budge. He wasn't going to give the Jedi the pleasure of caving into them.

Anakin took things into his own hands. He didn't like to manhandle children, but sometimes, like when they were ex-cons, you had to make exceptions to the rules. Placing his hands on Boba's arms he lifted the child free of the bin. Setting him down he turned him around, and accepting Rex's binders, cuffed the boy's hands.

Despite the knowledge that this boy had attempted to assassinate Master Windu, and had actually caused many deaths, it was still strange to treat one so young and so small as a prisoner. He knew the kid could be lethal, but that didn't make it any less weird. "Let's go."

As the men and their prisoner left the hangar, they were met by the owner of the shipyard, the hangar manager, twenty firefighters, several police officers and a large group of civilian spectators. After explaining themselves and showing their clearance, Anakin, Rex and Boba were allowed to leave.

Upon returning to their ship Anakin guided Boba to a seat, securing his binder cuffs to the seat with a cable tie, and went to prep the engines. Rex removed his helmet keeping an eye on the kid. It seemed like the boy was resigned to his fate as a prisoner of the Republic once more. Rex wanted to say something comforting to the him, the poor kid didn't look happy at all.

Rex opened his mouth when he heard some swearing come from the cockpit. Anakin came back to the cabin. "Well, gentlemen, it seems we get to stick around Mandalore for a while yet. There's a big solar flare underway and we won't be able to leave until tomorrow. Make yourselves comfy."

Anakin sat soggily on one of the seats that lined the walls. Rex could tell he was anxious to get this assignment over with. This 'light duty' assignment had been anything but fun. Turning back to Boba he said, "Are you hungry? Do you want anything to eat or drink?"

Boba sat slumped in his seat, gazing at his knees. "No."

Of all of them he was the least wet, but Rex tried again. "Are you cold? Do you want a blanket?"

Sitting up, Boba looked up at Rex, then at Anakin, and back to Rex. "Don't patronize me. I can handle myself. I don't need your pity or anything else you try to force on me. Just let me be."

"Hey there, cool it," Anakin said, "Rex was just trying to make you more comfortable. We don't want to hurt you."

Boba straightened up even more, glaring. "That's all Jedi do, is hurt people. A great and noble order of butchers, defending the rich and mighty in the galaxy."

"Settle down." Rex said sharply. He really didn't care for General Skywalker being talked about in such a way. "No one wants you to come to harm. That doesn't mean you ain't gotta pay for the crimes you committed."

"What do you even want with me. Haven't I paid enough? Is one jailbird really worth the time of such a famous Jedi?"

"Maybe not," Anakin answered, "but your genes are worth a lot to the Republic. We're taking you to Kamino so that the Kaminoans can gather some samples of untampered clone genetics."

Boba flushed, partially with rage, but also embarrassment. He never thought of himself as a clone, but the rest of the galaxy wouldn't let him forget it. "My dad signed up for that, not me. Maybe you should've thought about that before you murdered him."

Anakin was beginning to get a little annoyed, but he wasn't sure he was annoyed at Boba. The words came out of his mouth before he could stop himself, even though he wasn't sure he believed any of them. "Sometimes it's necessary to do extreme things for the greater good. The Republic needs untampered clone genes."

Anger flashed in Boba's eyes. "I'm not a slave and I'm not a clone. You can't just use me like you use the others." He nodded towards Rex. "He may be a slave to the will of the Republic, but not me. I had a dad, I had family, and I'm a free person. You can't treat me like a clone because I'm not!"

Rex swallowed. He didn't like being called a slave. He liked to think that he had freedom, at least as much as anyone did. However, this wasn't the first time he had heard this sentiment, and it wasn't the first time words like that had come from a clone, either. "Settle down, kid, you don't have to like being a clone but you can't pretend you aren't, life don't work that way. And because of you being a clone, that makes you important. We all have to do our part and it ain't always fun, but every one of us has a duty to perform and our duty must come first."

"My duty is to achieve justice for my dad. I don't owe anything to the Republic, or Kamino, or clones. And stop calling me kid," he glared at Rex. "I'm older than you are, though everyone seems to forget that. I'm not a kid, and I'm not a child. I get by on my own, I take care of myself, and I don't hide behind my 'brothers' when things get tough. I have a name, a first and a last one. I'm a real person. I don't belong to the government or anyone else but myself."

Anakin was beginning to feel angry. Boba had struck a nerve. Anakin remembered many of those words pouring off his own lips when he had been a slave on Tatooine. He remembered the constant fight for identity. How hard it was to get people to realize that he wasn't a slave, but a person. That he had a name besides "boy" and dreams and desires of his own. Anakin didn't like to dwell on his past, but looking at this boy- no, looking at Boba was like looking into a mirror. Young, tough, and scared. Only wanting people to take him seriously, only wanting to be seen as a person. Only wanting to be free. "I think we've had enough talk." he snapped at Boba. Boba slumped back into his seat quietly, though Anakin could still see the fierce defiance in his eyes.

Rex, too, sat back in began to wipe off his armor and readjust his helmet settings. He didn't speak again, he could tell General Skywalker was angry with this mission. Rex couldn't say that he was too happy with it himself. He knew that Boba was in a strange middle-ground. A place Rex could only observe. Boba had been raised with an identity, knowing who he was, but that had been stripped away when his father died and the war started. To the galaxy he was just a wayward, even defective, clone. Someone who needed restrained, retrained, or controlled.

In other ways, though, Rex thought he knew exactly how Boba felt. He knew how some generals ignored the fact that the clones created identity for themselves. Some, many even, called the clones by their numbers only, refusing to acknowledge their names. While he might be chronologically younger than Boba, and physically older, Boba reflected the same struggle that he and all clones faced, and probably would face, throughout their entire lives. Rex heaved a sigh and tried to push away those depressing thoughts. He didn't even know if he would live through the war, it was no use thinking about anything other than his duty right now, and that, at least, was clear cut.

Finishing cleaning up his helmet from the water, Rex laid aside his tools, replaced it on his head and sat back. Rex had the distinct feeling that this mission would rank as one of the ones he was least proud of and most eager to forget.


	6. TIED HANDS

After about half an hour of silence Anakin rose and went back to the cockpit, presumably to check the solar flare reports to see when they could leave. After a few minutes he came back into the cabin and motioned for Rex to join him. Rex threw a sidelong glance toward Boba before he joined Anakin in the cockpit. "What is it, sir?"

"I thought it might be better to talk in here."

Rex took the co-pilot's chair, removing his helmet, as Anakin took the pilot's seat. Anakin picked a gadget up from the console and began unscrewing the back panel. Rex tried to sound reassuring. "I don't think the kid is gonna come to any harm, sir, if that's what you're worried about."

Removing the back panel, Anakin began pulling out wires. "I don't know what I'm worried about. I just don't like this. We shouldn't be chasing little boys across the galaxy for their DNA. It's just... I don't know."

Rex felt uneasy. "I can't say it's something I like doing, sir, but I don't see a way around it. The war effort needs more clones, and clones need source material. Everyone is counting on that ki- on Boba."

Anakin scowled, still focused on his work. "I know, but it's still not the Jedi way. The Jedi way isn't about doing something awful just because it seems like the best of two options. The Jedi way is to create a third option. To make a better way if one isn't available. The Jedi way is better than this." Anakin viciously jabbed at the gadget with his screwdriver, pausing, he looked at Rex for a moment. "Do you think this is right?"

Rex considered the question seriously. By all rights Boba ought to be brought in and put back in jail. There wasn't anything wrong with that. But this business with taking the gene samples? Rex wasn't sure he was high enough ranking to have an opinion on that. Rex thought back to clones like 99. Beside 99, a lot of clones had little defects because the Kaminoans were stretching the source material. Running his hand over his close-cropped blond hair he finally said, "Sir, if we don't get more clones we're gonna take more and more casualties in every skirmish. I don't think it's right for more men to die because they didn't have adequate support."

Anakin felt caught. He agreed with Rex wholeheartedly. While the 501st had fairly low casualty rates compared to the average, they still took big hits from time to time. Regardless of the size of the skirmish, there was always at least one soldier who didn't walk away from it. The more he thought about it, the more impossible the entire situation seemed. He ran through a half a dozen ill conceived solutions in his head before he came back to where they were. It angered him that he, the most powerful Jedi in the galaxy, couldn't figure out a better way. Was this the best the Republic could do?

Tossing the gadget back onto the console, Anakin crossed his arms unhappily as he stared out the cockpit. There was nothing to see there except the fleeting nighttime shadows, but he looked anyway, hoping that a solution to this dilemma might magically appear. He hoped against hope that maybe a ghost would appear and whisk Boba away while he and Rex were talking. The Force remained damnably silent on the whole issue, refusing to give Anakin a hint about what would be the wisest course of action.

Rex could tell Anakin was still angry. "So, what do we do?"

Anakin leaned back in the pilot's seat. "I don't know."

* * *

As soon as Rex had joined Anakin in the cockpit, Boba began to struggle and contort himself in an attempt to get his hands in front of his body. In this one instance it was actually more useful to not be an adult. With a child's nimbleness, Boba got his hands in front of him, hoping against hope that he'd done so quietly enough that his captors wouldn't hear. Extending his leg, he used it to shimmy Rex's toolbox over to him. Managing to open the box without alerting his captors he found a tool that quite handily doubled as a lock pick. It took a few seconds of patience and a little skill to lift the tool from the box into his hands, but he managed it. For several terrifying and frantic seconds he attempted to pick the lock on his cuffs, but to no avail. With his small hands it was almost impossible to get the angle he needed to pick the locks.

Boba heard the sound of soft footsteps and looked up, heart racing. Instead of his captors, however, he saw, Bo-Katan stealthily entering the ship. She raised a finger to her lips to keep him quiet and gave him a wink. He held up his cuffed hands for her to see. She nodded and quietly came to his side, kneeling down and picking the cuffs with the tool Boba had been struggling with. For her it was a piece of cake. The cuffs off, Bo-Katan handed Boba a pistol and pointed towards the ramp. Boba needed no second bidding. Hastily, and using all the stealth his small frame possessed, he fled the ship.


	7. EPILOGUE

MISSION NO. CW-JM-4376: OFFICIAL DEBRIEF

OBJECTIVE: Recapture escaped convict and untampered clone C-0001, alias Boba Fett, and bring him to Kamino for detainment and the gathering of fresh genetic material for future cloning endeavors.

MISSION STATUS: Objective not met

MISSION LEADER: Jedi, Gen. Anakin Skywalker

OTHER PERSONNEL: CT-7567, Capt.

MISSION NOTES: Boba Fett evaded capture leaving no traces or leads to his whereabouts. Official recommendation is to abandon his recapture indefinitely.


End file.
